Welcome to the Thursday, December 27 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
31 of the 100 largest cities will have mayoral elections in 2019
The gifts are all unwrapped. The needles are falling from the tree. Grandma’s humor is starting to get on her family’s nerves. It is anyone’s guess when the federal government shutdown will conclude. Here at Ballotpedia, we have been thinking about the 2019 electoral season. Today, we wanted to take a break from the minute-by-minute political news cycle and take a look at the mayoral election landscape in 2019.
In the 100 largest cities by population, 31 cities will hold mayoral elections in 2019. The combined population of these cities holding 2019 mayoral races is approximately 19.4 million people, nearly 6 percent of the country’s population.
As of December 2018, the mayors of 60 of the country's largest 100 cities are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 28 are affiliated with the Republican Party, seven are independents, four have unknown party affiliations, and one seat is vacant. Of the 31 seats up for election in 2019, 20 current officeholders are affiliated with the Democratic Party, six are affiliated with the Republican Party, three are independents, and two are unknown. This is down from 64 Democratic mayors in the top 100 cities at the start of 2017.
There are a number of top races happening between January and May. A special 2018 mayoral election in Phoenix will conclude with a runoff on March 12, 2019. The previous mayor was affiliated with the Democratic Party. Incumbent mayors may face challenges in Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Denver, and Philadelphia. There are open seats up for election in Tampa, Kansas City, and Dallas.
There were 25 mayoral elections in 2018. Democrats saw a net loss of one seat—in Lexington, Kentucky. Republicans saw a net gain of one seat—with gains in Lexington and Virginia Beach and a loss in Garland, Texas (which was won by an unaffiliated candidate).
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